Pouring spout for containers



June 27, 1944.

F. H. MLLER POURING SPOUT FOR CONTAINERS Filed Maty- 12, 1942 zvezi'olfew/mwa MULLER @A7,

' metal.

Patented June 27, 1944 PoUmNc sroUT Foa ooNrArNEns Ferdinand H. Mller,Montclair, N. J., assigner to Wilmington Fibre Specialty Company,Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application May 12, 1942,Serial No. 442,679

2 Claims.

My invention relates primarily to nonemetallic containers for marketingand dispensing powdered, granular or flaky materials, such as preparedbreakfast foods, salt, corn meal, cereals, soap chips, and other dryproducts that are commonly sold in small packages for domesticconsumption and are used directly from the package, and the inventioncomprises a novel form of nonmetallic closure and pouring spout for suchcontainers. n

The invention aims to provide a secure, inexpensive, combined pouringspout and closure for preserving the contents ofthe package and keepingmoisture and dust out after the package has been opened, and for readilydispensing the contents as desired.

One of the objects of the invention is to form from non-metallic sheetmaterial having the required tougliness, resiliency, flexibility andresistanceV to moisture and'atmospheric gases, a pouring spout equal inall respects to spouts heretofore made of sheet metaal; and anotherobject is to adapt existing machines and methods to the working ofsuitable non-metallic sheet material in order to produce spouts that canbe readily assembled with containers of the types heretofore founddesirable for packaging foods and household supplies.

I have discovered that what is known as hard vulcanized bre can beproduced in sheets of the desired thickness and also havingcharacteristic physical properties making Yit suitable ,for re-v placingsheet metal, such as aluminum and tin, in the pouring spouts of foodcontainers and other dispensing containers in the packaging industry,thereby enabling a substantial saving to be made in the cost of suchcontainers and releasing large quantities of such metals for otherindustrial needs.

The special kind of vulcanized fibre preferred for the purposes of thisinvention is a chemically regenerated or gelatinized cotton basecellulose, having a greater density and corresponding toughness andstrength than mechanically compacted fibrous sheet material commonlysold under the name nbre, and is less affected by heat and moisture. Itstensile strength may vary from 6000 to 18,000 lbs. per square inch, andits density from 1.05 to 1,5. It may be bent, cut. punched, anged andshaped much like sheet It has more resistance to weak chemicals andcorrosive substances than many metals, and it has more exibility andendurance to repeated bending stresses than any spout metal now in use.

To be suitable for my purpose, the fibrous material ought to besufficiently pliant when moistened to be folded and pressed lor swedgedinto suitable forms without cracking, and when dried by heating itshould retain its formed vsha-pe. When dry itmay be punched and machinedlike metals, and it may be coated with paraffin or shellac to preventabsorption of moisture. Its property of flowability vdistinguishes itfrom other brous or laminated sheet material, and its hardness andresiliency distinguish it from the softermetals. Any sheet materialhaving these characteristics is Within the eld of th invention.

In the illustrative form of the invention shown in thedrawing, avulcanized fibre pouring spout of much the same general shape as thoseheretofore made of sheet metal, is applied to a card-A board containerof the type commonly used for marketing many. dry granular materialsused in the household.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the container and assembled spout inopen or pouring position, a portion of the side Wall of the spout beingbroken away to disclose the modey of attachment to the hinge; l

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the end oi the con` tainer showing it punchedand scored ready to receive the spout, drawn to a larger scale than Fig.1;

Figs. 3 and 4 are cross sections of the container on the lines 3 3 and 44', respectively;

Fig. '5 is a plan view of the blank from which the spout is to beformed; f

Fig.` 6 is a cross section thereof on the'line 6 6 ink Fig. 5; Y

Fig. 7 is a lengthwise cross section through the assembled spout andcontainer on the center line of the pouring opening,V showing the spoutclosed; and

Fig. 8 is a cross section of the same on the line 8-8 in Fig. 7, Figs. 2to 8 being drawn to the same scale.

The container I0 shown in the drawing comprises a top or cover IIprovided with a pouring opening I 2, Yformed by punching out a portionof the cover material. At one end of thepouring opening a hinge tongueI3 is left projecting into the opening for attaching the spout I4.Preferably the side walls of the opening I2 are cut with a knife bladeor rule having a wedge shape cutting edge so as to leave sloping sidesto the cuts. as shown in Fig. 3, permitting the side walls I5 of thespout to be readily inserted between the sides of the opening and theedges of the tongue I3.

A cross cut I6 is made in the tongue as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, toreceive a prong or projection I'I formed in the bottom Wall of the spoutwhen the parts are assembled. At the cross cut I6 the edges of thetongue material are beveled as shown in Figures 3 and 4. This permitsfree entry of projection I'I. Projection I1 together with two opposedprongs or wings I8 formed in the side walls I5 of the spout and whichengage under the,V

sides of the tongue I 3 in assembled position, serve to secure the spoutto the tongue at all timesA For most satisfactory results, the grain oflthe material ought to be made tol run lengthwise of of laminated sheetmaterial.

the spout, that is, crosswiseof the longest dimenp 1 scribed.

sion of the blank, so the wings I8 are not bent across the grain of thematerial.

Score marks I9 are cut in the upper side (Fig.

. 5) of the spout on the lines of bend between the side walls and thespout bottom to aid in bending the spout to trough shape prior toinserting it in the opening' I2 and securing it in place, and the outercorners or tips of the side walls of the spout are provided withprojecting tabs 2l]r which serve to prevent the spout from being pulledopen so far as to permit the side walls I5 to disengage from the sidesof the opening I2.

To assemble the spout in the container opening after it has been blankedout as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, first the side Walls are folded at rightangles on the scored lines IS and then the two tip ends 2!! are insertedin the slits between the tongue i 3 and sides of the opening I2.and thespout is pressed down until the bottomv I4 is at against the tongue I3,with the projection or anchor lug I'I extending through the out I6 andtheside Wings I8 bearing against the edges of the tongue on its underside, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the resiliency of the spout materialbeing suflicient to permit the side wings to straighten out enough topass through the cuts in the top and spring back into place.

The spout may be, readily formed and assembled in place by means ofautomatic machinery, and when once assembled in thepouring opening andsecured in place by the projections I'I and wings I8 it cannot easily beremoved without mutilating the tongue I3. Y A

The thickness of the hard vulcanized bre of which the spout is made ispreferably between .007" and .015v for small spouts, andup to .02" forlarger sizes. Thecover II vmay be made of suitable thickness for Vthepurpose for which it is intended. If it is much over. .015" inthickness, the base line 2l of the hinge should be partly scored toenable it to bend readilyto spout tobepulled open Ifor use.

permit the vIn the claims, the expression hard vulcanized iibrely isused to designate a thin, hard, resilient sheet material having theproperties of the chemicallyregenerated or gelatinized bre above de--What Iclaim as my invention is as follows:

l. Al pouring spout and closure for containers of the type having a wallof exible material provided with a pouring opening, said spout havingiiexible integral bottom and side Walls and provided with cooperatingmeans to secure it to the container when assembled in its pouringopening,'s'aid means comprising a hinged tongue at. one end of saidopening engaged by said bottom wall and formed of a portion of saidcontainer and having a slot, a projection formed in-v tegral With saidspout and engaged tightly in said slot for attaching said spout to thecontainer, and inwardly extending opposing wings integral with the sidewallsrhaving free inner edges bearing against the said hinged tongue onthe side of said hinged tongue opposite to that side engaged by saidbottom wall and holding said tongue in Contact with said bottom wall. l

v2. A pouring spout and closure `for containers of the type having awall of flexible material provided rwith a pouring opening, said spouthaving flexible integral bottom and side walls and provided withcooperating means to secure it to the container when assembled in itspouring opening, said means comprising a hinged tongue free of-saidcontainer along one end and two sides and having a slot, a projectionstruck out from said .spout and engaged tightly in said slot forattaching said spout to the container, and opposingr Wings struckinwardly from the side Walls of said spout and bearing resilientlyagainst the bottom surface of said hinged tongue yand holding it Iincontact with said bottom wall, said projection and wings being alignedtransverselyv of the spout, said slot being disposed transversely oftheltongue to permit free entry of the projection into the slot inassembly. v Y I FERDINAND n. MLLER."

